Legion of Doom

The Legion of Doom was a forward line for the Philadelphia Flyers who played together between 1995 and 1997 comprising centre Eric Lindros, left winger John LeClair and right winger Mikael Renberg. They were given this name not only for their offensive play, but also their ability to dominate games physically; each of the three were six foot two or taller and weighed over 230 pounds. The name was coined by journeyman Flyers centre Jim Montgomery and popularized by Flyers announcer Gene Hart. History Background In the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons, Mark Recchi (jersey #8), Lindros (#88) and Brent Fedyk (#18) had formed the productive "Crazy Eights" line. Renberg split his time playing left wing with Lindros and right wing with Rod Brind'Amour. Despite a strong start to the 1993–94 season, and emergent talents such as Lindros and Renberg, the Flyers fell apart in the second half of the year and narrowly missed the playoffs, the fifth consecutive time that the club didn't reach the postseason. This led to the firing of head coach Terry Simpson and general manager Russ Farwell. They were succeeded by Terry Murray and Bobby Clarke, respectively. Formation The line was formed in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season when the Montreal Canadiens traded John LeClair, Eric Desjardins, and Gilbert Dionne to the Flyers in exchange for Mark Recchi. Renberg was moved from Rod Brind'Amour's left wing and placed on Lindros' right wing. Murray then placed LeClair as the left wing to form the trio. LeClair was expected to use his physical prowess to make room for Lindros, and went on to exceed all expectations as LeClair's scoring totals jumped dramatically compared with his time with the Canadiens. The line registered its first point on Saturday, February 11, 1995, in a game against the New Jersey Devils at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The line made an immediate impact, as it helped the Flyers defeat the Devils 3–1. Before the formation of the line, the Flyers had struggled out of the gate, going only 3–7–1 through their first 11 games while being outscored 34–22. However, in their final 37 games (including the one on February 11 against the Devils), the Flyers went 25–9–3 and outscored their opponents 128–98 en route to capturing the Atlantic Division title and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals (a six-game loss to the Devils).